There are days when you wake up and look in the mirror,
seeing a face both familiar and strange —
eyes that have walked through exhaustion,
a smile that has tried to stay strong
even when all it wanted
was to sit down and cry for a while.
You’ve learned how to love others,
to give with gentleness and forgiveness,
yet somehow forgot
that you, too, deserve to be loved that way.
To love yourself
is not selfish —
it’s knowing when to pause after you’ve given too much,
forgiving your small mistakes,
and holding your own heart
the way you once held someone you cared for deeply.
Give yourself time —
to heal,
to fail,
to slow down,
and to smile,
even when there’s no reason to.
Because only when you are truly gentle with yourself
can the world learn
to be gentle with you too.
